Coil winding apparatus



A ril s, 1958 J. P. LO O -P 2, 8

COIL WINDING APPARATUS Filed April 15, 1955 A 3 Sheets-Sheet} Fig. .2 5V 52 INVENTOR.

JAMES P. LOOP BY M, 0AA w+Z/M ATTORNEYS April 3, 1953 J. P. LOOP COIL WINDING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Shet 2 Filed April 15, 1955 .W s 6 R M 0 Y. 8 4 6 T M 4 M 3 M m w T ME m W ml 8 a M drA 5 1 M M w i w m 9, m, m \m wlu W 6 M 1 rm 9 B w M a H 4 9 7 0 9 H) J 4 b w w i w 4 0 h O! '3 man m m m 9 i A 7: 5 m m n Mm V I f f nil l Vuvvwv \\\\-\:I==- I hH SliflHuHHn' n -W ll. TJ a o 4 I B m I 4 2 3 April 8, 1958 J. P. LOOP 2,829,845

0011. WINDING APPARATUS Filed April 15, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 P W S W. Y R 0 Y I 2 m w M 6 N R m w 7 mp W d, W I. N a M H 5 J w n w W n 7 qiiatizii m 0 3 ME--L m A. r .w HI. W I I I w I 1. q m I .1.. A a w m. .v 47

United States Patent 2,829;845 con. WINDINGAPPARATUS James P. Loop, Kokomo, Ind aslsignor:toxContinental SteelCorporation, Kokomo, Ind., ta corporation ofrlndiana Application April 15, 1955, Serial No.501538 9 Claims. .(Cl. 242-81) vidually and rotatably mounting the two axially separatable portions of the spool and for-selectively opening and closing the spool inthe axial direction. Another object of the invention is to provide in Conjunction with the spool separating mechanism, means for locking the spool portions in end to end contact in the closed position in condition to be rotated towind a coil of-wire-onto the core of the spool. Another important object of the invention is to provide in the'coil winding apparatus means for supporting the coil of wire duringits removalfrom the core of the spool and during relative separating'movement of the spool portions, and forthereupomcausing the coil to roll to an easily accessible position away" from the spool when it has beenfreed'therefrom.

These and other objects and advantagesof the present invention willbe apparent from the "following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken-with the drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of'one form ofthe present coil windingapparatus, the apparatus embodying a collapsible-core typewspool of %the 'kind shown and described in my copending application'Serial No.60H537 filed concurrently herewith, the spool being shownin open position with certain parts offtheapparatus cutaway for clearness of illustration;

Fig. 2 is a similarviewrof'the uppertportion of the apparatus, showing the spool inits closed position with a substantially full coil of wire=wound thereon;

Fig. 3 is a back elevational viewofrthelnppen portion of the apparatus, showing ;the spool in its iclosed position;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional viewithrough"the app-aratus and through the coil of wire .on'zthe :closedspool-i taken substantially along the line 4-4 in Fig. 3, showing a pivoted coil receiving lever or platformzin-itsrnorinaliposition out of contact with thebottorn of fthezcoil;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectionalaviewi taken substantially along the line 5-5inFig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a view like Fig. 4,but-showingtthe pivoted coil receiving lever or platform in its:raised:and coil supporting position preparatory to receivingtthercoihfrom the spool;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentaryverticalasectional-uviewithrough the machine taken substantially along 1112 ;line 4'4 in Fig. 3, but showing the coil receivingleverof the.:machine relocated in an alternate normalcpositionqfor accommodating a larger coil of wire wound upon a ilargercspool of the type shown and describedin my .copending application Serial No. 501,646 filed rconcurrentlyiherewithytand I *Fig.8'is a view like ,Fig. 7,:b11t with thezcoilareceiving Patented Apr. 8, 1958 'ice .2 lever pivoted to its raised position to support the larger coil and to receive the same from the larger spool.

The base portion of the machine shown in the drawings has a frame comprised of a plurality of upright angle irons 10 located at the corners of the base, with the lower ends of the upright angle irons joined by horizontal angle iron members 11 that are adapted to rest on a floor 12.

The upper ends of the upright angle iron members are joined by horizontal angle iron members 13 which provide a support for a table-like top 14 of the base of the machine, the various angle iron members and the top 14 being welded or otherwise secured together and the top 14 being further supported, if desired, by transversely extending angle iron members 15. The base is preferably enclosed by front and rear walls 16 and 17 and by end walls 18, these walls being secured in any suitable fashion to the base. An electric motor 19 is mounted in any suitable manner within the base, with its shaft 20 extending outwardly through an opening 21 provided in one of the end walls 18. This shaft 29 has a pulley 22 *thereon for driving a plurality of V-belts 23 that extend upwardly around another pulley 24 mounted upon a shaft'25 that is rotatably journalled in a pair of pillow blocks 26. The pillow blocks 26 are anchored upon a built-up 'frame element 27 which in turn is bolted to the top of a plate 28 that is welded across a pair of spaced apart upright plates 29 welded or otherwise secured upon the top 14 of the'base portion of the machine. Opposite edges, these legs being disposed parallel to the axis-of the shaft25. The upper edge of each of the upright'legs 34 has an inwardly directed retaining plate 35 welded or bolted thereon, the undersides of the overhanging portions of 1 these plates, together with the web 33 of the'rail member 32, provide vertically spaced, longitudinallyextending rails forming a track for retaining and guiding a movable carriage assembly'36.

The carriage assembly 36 comprises a horizontal plate '37 which has a pair of downwardlyand longitudinally extending'plates'38 of similar thickness and strength welded'thereto. 'Each of these plates '33 has a pair of rollers 13) :rotatably mounted upon-its outer face androtatably riding in the'space between the overhanging portions of the r taining plates 35 and the web 33 of the rail member 32. The rollers 39 may be rotatably mounted upon the outer ends of pins 4-0 that may extend through the lower portions of theplates 38 and may have threaded inner ends which receive nuts 41 securing the pins, and thus the rollers, in place onthefplates 38, as seen in Fig. 5.

7A pair of outwardly extending pivot pins 4?. are threadu'edlyreceivedin suitable internally threaded openings in "the outer'face of the upright legs 34 of the rail member 32. :Each ofthese pins has a shoulder 43 formed thereon .(Fig. :5 abutting the outer face of one of the upright legs and 'each has a smooth cylindrical portion 44 extending outwardly from the shoulder 43. The cylindrical portions of the pivot pins 42 have rotatably mounted thereon a pair of downwardly extending legs 45 of a =saddlemernber 46 which straddles the outer end of the -rail member 32, the downwardly extending leg members of :the saddle being joined at their upper'ends by a transversely extendingbar 47 to which there is secured, .in .anysu'itable manner, a handle 48 by means ofwhich 'the :saddle .46 maybe'pivoted about the pins 42. 'The lower edge portion :of each :of the:downwardly=exteniling legs 45 of the saddle is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 49.

The saddle 46 comprises one portion of a toggle mechahism for advancing and retracting the carriage 36, the other portion of the toggle mechanism being comprised 'of a pair of links 59. The lower ends of the links 50 are 'respectively pivotally mounted, as by pivot plns 51,

within the slots 49, the links extending diagonally up wardly from each of the pins 51 along the opposite sides of the carriage '36 where their upper ends are pivotally received upon pins 52 provided at the opposite ends of a transverse block 53 secured upon the upper surface of the horizoh'tal plate 37 of the carriage 36.

From Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that when the handle 48 is moved in the direction of the arrow 54 (Fig. 1), the saddle 46 is pivoted about the pins 42 to carry the links 50 to the right and thereby advance the carriage 36 toward the shaft 25. As the carriage reaches its advanced position (Fig. 2) the pins 51 at the lower ends of the links 50 pass through an overcenter position, this position being located along a straight line between the pins 42 and 52, whereupon the upper edges of the lower portions of the links bottom in the slots 49-. T1118 bottoming of the links 50 in the slots 49 limits the extent of forward movement of the carriage 36 and, at the same time, the movement of the pins 51 through the overcenter position locks the carriage in its advanced position. If

desired, the downwardly extending legs 45 of the saddle' 46 may each be provided with a limit screw 55 that extends vertically through the leg and emerges in the slot 49 therein. From Figs. 1 and 2 it will be noted that the upper edges of the links 50 will bottom on the lower throu h openings provided in the segmentsfil, each s'egf ment thereby being retained in position about the seat 61 by a pin 63 so as to be axially 'rnovable on the seat; It will be noted in Fig. 1 that when the two sp'o ol halves are in their open position, the segments 62 are slightly spaced fromthe inner face of the adjacent flange 60 and, because of the shape of the conical seat 61, they are in a radially collapsed position. However, as will be more fully explained below, when the segments 62 are moved axially toward the'inner face of the flange 60, the segments ri'de up'o'ri the conical seat '61 and are radiallydisplaced to increase the diameter of the core-half provided by those segments, this radial movementpf the, segments being peimitted with respect to the iiidiviciual als 83 by virtue of the fact that the openings in the segments, through which the pins extend, loosely receive the pins.

The hub 59 on the other shaft 57 is similarly provided with a flange 64, and the innermost end of the shaft 57 extends through the hub and the flange and is tapered at its inner end to provide another frusto-conical seat 65 about which there are a plurality of core segments 66 which collectively provide another cylindrical spool core-half. The segments 66 are loosely retained about the seat 65 by a plurality of pins (not shown) similar to the pins 63 and threaded into the inner face of the fiange 64. These latter pins, like the pins 63, are loosely receivedin openings 67 (Fig. 4) in the individual segments but are shorter than the pins 63 and have a length lessthen the axial dimensions of the segments 66 so, that when the two spool halves are moved to their closed position, the outermost ends of the pins 63 enter ends of the limit screws 55 when the screws are adjusted so that their lower ends extend into the slots 49. Thus, by adjusting the screws 55 the forwardmost advance of the carriage 36 may be selectively adjusted.

Movement of the lever 48 in the direction opposite the arrow 54 of Fig. 1 retracts the carriage 36 from the advanced position shown in Fig. 2 to the retracted position shown in Fig. 1. When the carriage 36 reaches its fully retracted position, the lower edges of the links 50 bottom upon the pivot pins 42 within the slots 49, thereby limiting the retracting movement of the carriage 36 and preventing the rollers 39 thereon from running out of the track provided by the rail member 32.

The upper plate 37 of the carriage 36 has a pair of pillow blocks 56 anchored thereon for rotatably supporting a shaft 57. These pillow blocks contain thrust bearings which permit the shaft 57 to rotate freely but prevent axial movement of the shaft with respect to the pillow blocks and, thus, with respect to the carriage 36. The pillow blocks 26 similarly contain thrust bearings permitting free rotation of the shaft 25 therein but preventing axial movement of that shaft.

In Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 the inner ends of the shafts 25 and 57 are shown provided with the halves of acollapsible-core spool assembly like that shown in my previously mentioned copending application Serial No.

501,537, while in Figs. 7 and 8 the machine is shown provided with a larger collapsible-core spool assembly of the kind shown in my previously mentioned copending application Serial No. 501,646. The first of these spool the openings 67 in the segments 66 and thus provide an interdrive connection between the two spool halves. The segments 66, like the segments 62, are spaced slightly from the inner face of their adjacent flange 64 when the spool halves are in their open position, but are adapted to ride axially on the conical seat 65 and thus be spread radially to increase the diameter of the spool core-half provided thereby.

It will thus be understood that when the handle 48 I is moved from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 2, the saddle 46 is pivoted about the pins 42 to advance the carriage 36 and to bring the two core-halves forcefully together to a closed position. The

two core-halves made up of the. segments 62 and 66 compresses the two core-halves together and consequently causes the segments 62 and .66 to be moved axially upon their respective conical seats 61 and 65 toward their adjacent'flanges, causing thetwo groups of segments to be moved radially to their expanded positions. As previously stated, as the two core-halves meet, the pins 63 enter the openings 67 in the segments 66, thereby locking the two spool halves together so that when the motor 19 is energized todrive the shaft 25 the two halves of thenow assembled spool are driven together as an integral unit.

- 70, 71, 72 and 73 are welded or otherwise secured laterassemblies comprises a pair of hubs 58 and 59 that are" keyed or otherwise secured respectively upon the shafts 25 and 57 adjacent their inner ends. The hub 58 has a flange 60 formed integrally thereon and the innermost end of the shaft 25 extends through the hub 58 and flange 60 and its end is tapered to provide a frusto-conical about the seat 61 and project forwardly and loosely the top of the base, with the plates 70 and 71 bridged by a horizontal plate 74 and the upright plates 72 and .73 being bridged by another horizontal plate (Fig.

4). The plates 74 and 75 have transversely mounted thereon a pair of upstanding spaced apart shaft supporting plates 76 and 77 through which a shaft 78 extends, the shaftbeing supported in suitable bearings 79 (Fig. 3) secured upon the outer faces of the upright plates 76 and 77. One end of this shaft 78 has a pulley 80 fixed thereon that is driven by means of a V-belt 81 from' a pulley 82 fixed upon the shaft 25 between the two pillow blocks 26. The other end of the shaft is connected to'a gear reduction mechanism of any suitable well known type enclosed by a housing 83 fixed upon the plate 76 to the rear of the carriage 36. The power supplied by the shaft 78 to the gear reduction mechanism is transmitted to a stub shaft 84 extending from the rear of the housing 83 and having mounted thereon a heart-shaped cam 85. A pair of cam followers 86 ride on this heart-shaped cam and thus supply oscillatory motion to a rod 87 upon which the cam followers are mounted, the opposite ends of this rod being slidably retained in upright bearing members 88 suitably anchored across the horizontal plates 74 and 75. The oscillatory rod 87 has a roller 89 mounted thereon that rides in a slot 90 provided in the lower portion. of an arm 91, the lowermost end of which is pivotally mounted upon a pin 92. This pin 92 is preferably mounted for vertical adjustment and for this purpose its opposite ends may extend through elongated vertically extending openings 93 and 94 respectively provided in the upright plates 71 and '72 as shown in Fig. 4. The, opposite ends of the pin may be threaded to receive nuts 95 thereon by means of which the position of the pin 92 within the openings 93 and 94 may be fixed. In adjusting the position of the pin 92 one of the nuts 95 may be loosened to permit the pin 92 to be shifted in a vertical direction within the openings 93 and 94 to the position desired, whereupon the nut may be retightened to fix the pin 92 in its adjusted position.

The upper end of the arm 91 is received by a bifurcated end member 96 provided upon the extremity of a feed actuating rod 97, aroller 98 being provided within the bifurcation of the end member 96 and arranged to ride in an elongated opening 99 in the upper end of the arm 91. Thus, it will be seen that as the shaft 78 is rotated to cause the heart-shaped cam 85 to turn, the arm 91is oscillated back and forth, as indicated in Fig. 3, to carry the feed actuating rod 97 back and forth in an axial direction. The shaft 97 is slidably journalled in the uppermost portion of the upright supporting plate 77 and is threadedly received in a boss 190 (Fig. 3) provided on one side of awire guide member 101. The opposite side of the wire guide member is provided with a similar boss 102 in which there is threaded the end of another shaft 193 that is slidably journalled in the upper portion of the other upright bearing plate 76 so that the wire guide member 191 and the shaft 103 are carried back and forth with the movement of the feed actuating shaft 97. g

The wire guide member 191 may be of any suitable construction. In the present instance the wire guide member is an elongated, open top, hollow structure having an upright rear wall 104 that is provided with an opening 195' through which wire 166 is led. The wire guide member adjacent its forward end slides upon a horizontal supporting rod 197 that is fixed at its opposite ends in the upright bearing plates '76 and 77, and the forward end of the guide member is provided with a pair of upstanding fingers 198 between which the wire 166 is led from the opening 195.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that after the spool halves have been moved to the closed position, bestshown in Figs. 2 and 3, the wire 106 threaded through-the wire guide member 161 is led onto the abutting core-halves provided by the core segments 62 and 6'6, whereupon the motor 19 may be energized to drive the two spool halves to wind the wire onto the spool. As the shaft is rotated, the feed shaft 78 is likewise turned to drive the heart-shaped cam 85 and thereby cause oscillatory motion of the arm 91 and axial motion of the feed actuating rod 97 to cause the wire guide 101to' move back and forth and thus feed the wire onto'thespool inuniform layers, the sweep of the w1re guide member 101 beingadjusted by adjusting the pin 92 vertically in the elongated openings '93 and 94 in the upright plates 71 and 72.

When the coil of wire on the spool assembly has been built-up toits desired size, the motor 19 is deenergized and the coil of wire may then be tied together by transverse tie wires or the like while the coil is still on .the spool. For this purpose the flanges 60 and 64 of the spool assembly are each provided with a plurality of radially directed slots 110 (Fig. 6) which extend inwardly from the peripheries of the flanges to positions opposite the ends of longitudinally extending grooves 111 provided in the outer surfaces of the segments 62 and 66 of the two spool halves, the grooves 111 being so formed in the segments that the grooves in the segments 62 are in alignment with the grooves in the segments 66 when the pins 63 are in alignment with or received'within the openings 67 in the segments 66. The tie wires, or their equivalent, may thus be fed through the slots 11!) in the flanges 60 and 64 and under the coil through the grooves 111 in the segments, whereupon the tie wires may be transversely wrapped around the coil and tied.

When the coil has been tied and the wire 196 leading to the coil has been cut, the handle 48 may be raised and pivoted from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. l to retract the carriage 36. Retraction of the carriage 36- separates the abutting faces of the core segments 62 and '66, permitting the core segments to move axially on their respective conical seats 61 and 65 to their collapsed positions, thereby reducing the diameters of the two core-halves. Upon collapsing movement of the segments of the two core-halves, the coil of wire is relatively loosely supported on the two core-halves and further retraction of the carriage 36 tends to carry the coil off of the segments 62 of the righthand core-half. At the same time, the left-hand corehalf tends to be withdrawn from this coil. By relatively slight pressure of the operators hand, and by operation of a coil supporting and receiving lever or platform about to be described, the operator causes the coil to be pulled from the segments 62 of the right-hand corehalf at substantially the same time the segments 66 of the left-hand core-half are completely withdrawn from the interior of thecoil.

A bracket 112 having a pair of upstanding legs 113 and 114 is fixed upon the top 14 of the base portion of the machine aheadof the spool assembly. The legs havea pair of suitably aligned openings adjacent their upper ends for receiving a transverse pivot pin 115 which pivotally receives the lower end of a substantially vertical plate 116 having a longitudinally extending coil supporting and receiving lever or platform 117 welded or otherwise secured upon its upper end. The inner end of the lever 117 extends forwardly to a position beneath the coil of wire on the spool assembly where the extremity of the lever curves upwardly slightly as at 117a. Adjacent the outer end of the lever an upstanding stop 118 is welded upon the upper surface of the lever, and upon the under surface of the lever at its outer end there is pivotally secured a rod or bar 119 which extends downwardly along the front of the base portion of the machine. The lower portion of the rod 119 is loosely received in a guide strap 12th fixed upon the front wall 16 of the base of the machine, and a foot treadle 121 is fastened to the lowermost end of the bar. A tension spring 122, having its lower end secured to the rod 119 and its upper end fastened to the base of the machine adjacent the top 14 urges the rod 119 upwardly and thus tends to pivot the coil supporting and receiving lever 117 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 4 and 6, thereby causing the innermost end of the lever in its normal position to be disposed in an unobstructing position below the level of the flanges of the spool assembly. Thus, in its normal substantially horizontal position the lever 117 does not interfere in any way with the flange 64 when the carriage 36 is retracted and advanced. However, when the coil has been wound upon the spool and the spool is being opened as described above, the operator places his foot upon the treadle 121 to bring the forward end of the lever 117 upwardly into supporting contact with the finished coil. This relieves the weight of the coil froin the segments 62 and 66 of the two core-halves and permits easier removal of the coil from the right-hand core-halfand easief withdrawal of the left-hand corehalf from the interior at the can as use carriage 36 is retracted. The lever is thus in positionto receive the coil as it is freed from the core-halves, the coil thereupon rolling down the slope of the lever 117, as shown in Fig}; 6, into contact with the stop 118 Where the finished coil in a readily accessible, position to' be lifted from the machine. The coil' in this accessible position rests upon the outer e'iid of the lever or platform 117 in the position shown by the broken lines Fig. 6, where it may easily and conveniently be grasped by theworkman or, if desired, by a crane hook. When the finished coil is lifted from the surface of the lever 117, the spring 122 auto matically pivots the lever back to its substantially horizontal normal position where it will in no way obstruct closing movement of the spool assembly preparatory to the winding of another coil of wire.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate an alternate disposition of the C011 receiving and supporting lever or platform 117 to accommodate larger coils of wire wound upon a spool assembly having a greater diameter than the spool assembly of Figs. 1 to 6. The larger spool assembly may, of course, be of the same construction as that shown in Figs. 1 to 6, but in this particular instance it has been shown to be a spool assembly such as is illustrated and described in my previously mentioned copending application Serial No. 501,646, only one-half of the larger spool being seen in Figs. 7 and 8 inasmuch as these Views represent vertical cross+sections taken through the machine and the larger spool substantially along a line coincident with the line 4-4 in Fig. 3. This larger spool is comprised of two substantially identical spool halves, one of which is fixed npon'a plain shaft substituted for the shaft 25 and the other of which (seen in Figs. 7 and 8) is fixed upon a plain shaft 57a substituted for the shaft 57 in the machine. Each of the halves of the larger spool comprisesa hub 125 fixed upon the shaft and having an integral radially extending spool flange 126 thereon. The inner face of each of the flanges has an axially directed conical seat formed thereon and a plurality of substantially arcuate core segments 127 slidable in an axial direction thereon. The inner end of each of the conical seat members is provided with a core segment retaining ring 128 which prevents the segments from sliding in an axial direction off of the conical seat, but the visible inner end portions of the segments seen in Figs. 7 and 8 overhang the ring 128 and are thus in position to abut the corresponding overhanging ends of the core segments on the other spool half when the carriage 36 is advanced to close the spool halves, thereby causing the segments 127 of each core-half to be moved on their conical seats toward their adjacent flanges 126, to cause expanding movement of the segments.

The legs 113 and 114 of the bracket 112 on the top 14 of the base of the machine are provided with a pair of lower aligned openings 130 (Figs. 4 and 6) into which the pivot pin 115 is relocated when the larger spool is employed in the machine, thereby lowering the normal position of the coil receiving and supporting lever or platform 117 to the position shown in Fig. 7, where it will be seen that the inner end of the lever resides below the level of the flange 126 so as not to interfere with closing movement of the spool. If desired, the foot treadle 121 may also be raised on the vertical rod or bar 119, suitable openings 130' (Figs. 4 and 6) and 131 (Figs. 7 and 8) being provided in the bar to permit adjustment of the position of the treadle, and a smaller pulley 24 may be installed to reduce the increased wire speed that would otherwise result in the employment" of a spool of larger diameter. If desired, the wire feed pulley may also be replaced by a larger pulley to reduce the frequency of sweep of the wire guide member 101, and if the space between the inner faces of the flanges 126' of the closed larger spool is different from that of the smaller spool of Figs. 1 to 6, suitable adjustment of the sweep of the wire guide member may be made by raising or lowering the pin 92 (Fig 4).

With the coil supporting and receiving lever or platform 117 in its alternate lowered position, it functions with the larger spool in the same manner described above with respect to the smaller spool, the lever being pivoted upwardly into coil supporting position (Fig. 8) as the two halves of the larger spool are separated. Thus, as the larger coil is freed from the two core-halves of the larger spool, the larger coil rolls down the sloping upper surface of the upwardly pivoted lever to the readily accessible position shown by the broken lines in Fig. 8 where the coil will rest against the stop 118 until it is removed from the lever.

The foregoing description has been given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations are intended thereby, for it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous variations and modifications may be made in the construction of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for winding coils of wire and the like comprising, an axially fixed rotatable shaft having a first spool end thereon, said first spool end including a first longitudinally extending spool core-half, a track parallel to said shaft, a carriage movably mounted on said track, a second shaft rotatably mounted on said carriage in axial alignment with said first mentioned shaft, a second spool end on said second shaft including a second longitudinally extending spool core-half, toggle mechanism for selectively moving said carriage on said track toward said first shaft to a closed position. and away from said first shaft to a retracted position, said corehalves being in end to end contact when said carriage is in said closed position to provide an assembled spool core upon which a coil of wire may be wound and being axially separated from each other when said carriage is in said retracted position to permit easy removal of said coil, means rotatably interlocking said core-halves when said core-halves are in said end to end contact, and power means applied only to said first mentioned shaft for rotating said spool ends and said core-halves as an integral unit when said core-halves are rotatably interlocked.

2. Apparatus for winding coils of wire and the like comprising, an axially fixed rotatable shaft having a first spool end thereon, said first spool end including a first longitudinally extending spool core-half, a track parallel to said shaft, a carriage movably mounted on said track, a second shaft rotatably mounted on said carriage in axial alignment with said first mentioned shaft, a second spool end on said second shaft including a second longitudinally extending spool core-half, and toggle mechanism for selectively moving said carriage on said track toward said first shaft to a closed position and away from said first shaft to a retracted position, said toggle mechanism having an overcenter position locking said carriage in said closed position, and said core-halves being in end to end contact when said carriage is in said closed position to provide an assembled spool core upon which a coil of wire may be wound and being axially separated from each other when said carriage is in said retracted position to permit easy removal of said coil.

3. Apparatus for winding coils of wire and the like, comprising, an axially fixed rotatable shaft having a first spool end thereon, said first spool end including a first longitudinally extending spool core-half, a track parallel to said shaft, a carriage movably mounted on said track,

a second shaft rotatably mounted on said carriage in axial alignment with said first mentioned shaft, a second spool end on said second shaft including a second longitudinally extending spool core-half, a pair of toggle mechanisms on opposite sides of said carriage for moving the same longitudinally on said track, and means for simultaneously operating said toggle mechanisms to move said carriage in a direction toward said first shaft to a closed position and away from said first shaft to a retracted position, said core-halves being in end to end contact when said carriage is in said closed position to provide an assembled spool core upon which a coil of wire may be wound and being axially separated from each other when said carriage is in said retracted position to permit easy removal of said coil.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3, wherein said toggle mechanisms have an over-center position locking said carriage in said closed position.

5. Apparatus for winding coils of wire and the like comprising, an axially fixed rotatable shaft having a first spool end thereon, said first spool end including a first longitudinally extending spool core-half, a track parallel to said shaft, a carriage movably mounted on said track, a second shaft rotatably mounted on said carriage in axial alignment with saidfirst mentioned shaft, a second spool end on said second shaft including a second longitudinally extending spool core-half, toggle mechanism for selectively moving said carriage on said track toward said first shaft to a closed position and away from said first shaft to a retracted position, said core-halves being in end to end contact when said carriage is in said closed position to provide an assembled spool core and being axially separated from each other when said carriage is in said retracted position, means for rotating said core-halves to wind a coil of wire thereon while said carriage is in said closed position and said core-halves are in said end to end contact, a movable platform beneath said coil of wire having a normal position out of contact with said coil, and means for lifting said platform to a raisen position during movement of said carriage to said retracted position, said platform in said raised position being in supporting engagement with the underside of said coil to relieve a substantial portion of the weight of said coil from said core-halves and thereby permit easy relative withdrawal of said coil therefrom during retracting movement of said carriage, the upper surface of said platform in said raised position being at an angle with respect to the horizontal and providing a sloping surface down which said coil will roll to a position remote from said core-halves when said coil is freed therefrom.

6. Apparatus for winding coils of wire and the like comprising, an axially fixed rotatable shaft having a first spool end thereon, said first spool end including a first longitudinally extending spool core-half, a track parallel to said shaft, a carriage movably mounted on said track, a second shaft rotatably mounted on said carriage in axial alignment with said first mentioned shaft, a second spool end on said second shaft including a second longitudinally extending spool core-half, toggle mechanism for selectively moving said carriage on said track toward said first shaft to a closed position and away from said first shaft to a retracted position, said core-halves being in end to end contact when said carriage is in said closed position to provide an assembled spool core and being axially separated from each other when said carriage is in said retracted position, means for rotating said core-halves to wind a coil of wire thereon while said carriage is in said closed position and said core-halves are in said end to end contact, a pivotally mounted lever having a portion extending beneath said coil of wire, said lever having a normal position out of contact with said coil, and means for pivoting said lever to a raised position during movement of said carriage to said retracted position, said lever in said raised position being in supporting engagement with the underside of said coil to relieve a substantial portion of the weight of said coil from said core-halves and thereby permit easy relative withdrawal of said coil therefrom during retracting movement of said carriage, the upper surface of said lever in said raised position being at an angle with respect to the horizontal and providing a sloping platform down which said coil will roll to a position away from said core-halves when said coil is freed therefrom.

7. The combination set forth in claim 6, including stop means on said lever adjacent its lower end engaged by said coil to limit the rolling movement of said coil down said upper surface of said lever.

8. Apparatus for winding coils of wire and the like comprising, a pair of individually mounted coaxially arranged spool ends, each of said spool ends having a corehalf thereon in end contact with the core-half of the other spool end, means for rotating said core-halves to wind a coil of wire thereon, a pivotally mounted lever having an end extending beneath said coil of wire, said lever having a normal position out of contact with said coil, means for axially separating said core-halves while said coil is thereon, and means for pivoting said lever to a raised position during the relative separating movement of said core-halves, said end of said lever being in supporting engagement with the underside of said coil when said lever is in said raised position to relieve a substantial portion of the weight of said coil from said core-halves and thereby permit easy relative withdrawal of said coil from said core-halves to free said coil therefrom, the upper surface of said lever in said raised position being at an angle with respect to the horizontal and providing a sloping platform down which said coil will roll to an easily accessible position remote from said core-halves when said coil is freed therefrom.

9. Apparatus for winding coils of wire and the like comprising, a pair of individually mounted coaxially arranged spool ends, each of said spool ends having a corehalf thereon in end contact with the core-half of the other spool end, means for rotating said core-halves to wind a coil of wire thereon, fulcrum means disposed below said core-halves and laterally of the axis thereof, a lever pivotally mounted on said fulcrum means and having an end extending beneath said coil of wire, said lever having a normal position out of contact with said coil, means for selectively elevating the point of pivotation of said lever on said fulcrum means to adjust said normal position of said lever for spool ends and coils of different diameters, means for axially separating said core-halves while a coil of wire is thereon, and means for pivoting said lever to a raised position during the relative separating movement of said core-halves, said end of said lever being in supporting engagement with the underside of said coil when said lever is in said raised position to relieve a substantial portion of the weight of said coil from said core halves and thereby permit easy relative withdrawal of said coil from said core-halves to free said coil therefrom, the upper surface of said lever in said raised position being at an angle with respect to the horizontal and providing a sloping platform down which said coil will roll to an easily accessible position remote from said core-halves when said coil is freed therefrom.

Scott Jan. 11, 1916 Dierking Mar. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE CORRECTION Patent Nos 2,829,845 April 8, 1958 James P. Loop It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 9, line 40, for "raisen" read raised ==i Signed and sealed this 24th day of June 1958.

(SEAL) Attest:

KARL AXLINE ROBERT c. WATSON Attesting Officer Conmissioner of Patents 

